Ecommerce Website Design Best Practices: 15 Tips Every Ecommerce Website should be Considered In 2021

If your business is selling products online then you need to offer the best experience to have a strong online presence. There are other practices that contribute toward optimizing user experience but your ecommerce website design plays a crucial role as it helps businesses to gain credibility and create a strong online presence. That is the reason why most businesses look to hire an experienced e-commerce web design company to create a design that offers site visitors a reason to visit and purchase products.

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No matter how effective and attractive your products are for your consumers, to succeed in the competitive marketplace you will need a beautifully designed user as well as mobile-friendly website design. Mainly in today’s highly competitive marketplace, where more and more entrepreneurs are dipping their hands into selling products online, your ecommerce website will be competing with not only the local but also with the reasonable brands. 

So it all comes down to what steps ecommerce website owners can take to create a strong online presence and stay competitive. If you are scrolling the internet to find the answer for the same then you have landed on the right article where we are going to highlight some of the best ecommerce website design practices that can help you to offer the best user experience and create a strong online presence and also rank well in search engine result pages. 

Table Of Content: 

An overview of ecommerce website design 

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With more and more shoppers are shifting to online platforms it has become essential for every physical store to increase their product reach by shifting to online platforms. Having an ecommerce website offers you a chance to build your brand, reach out to the maximum number of potential customers and sell more products but it can be only achieved when you have the right ecommerce website interface for your business. 

Yes, the ecommerce website design plays a cruel role in grabbing your potential customers’ attention and encouraging them to make the final purchase. Not only that but having the right ecommerce web design also helps you to create a strong online presence and make your potential customers trust your product and brand. 

A good ecommerce website design is not only limited to using the right color, fonts, and images, but it also includes creating a researched-based strategy, adding simple but attractive graphics, Product placement, CTA placement, and more so that your ecommerce website design is able to convince your site visitors and encourage them to purchase the product. The design you are offering should attract your site visitors’ attention, offer a great user experience, and present your online store in a way that separates it from the crowd.

No matter whether you are creating a new ecommerce website or changing the existing website one thing you should keep in mind is that not only the site appearance matters but your ecommerce website should have all the potential to drive more site visitors and encourage them to become you paying customers. It all comes down to how can you do that? What action one can take to create an attractive and conversion-centric website design? How can you design an ecommerce website that will help you to drive more traffic and conversions?

If you are looking to find the answer for the same then you have landed on the right article where we are going to highlight some of the important ecommerce website design tips that can help you to increase traffic as well as conversion for your online store. Not only that but implementing these designs will also help you to grow your ecommerce website in the competitive marketplace. 

Why is it important to update your ecommerce website design? 

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Before we start exploring different tips that can help you to take your online store to the next level we would like to highlight some of the points in why businesses and websites should update their ecommerce website. As we have mentioned earlier that your ecommerce website acts as the front door of your website that it can make and break your business. That is the reason why every eCommerce website owner should know why they should update their ecommerce website design. Below are listing some of the important points that can help you to analyze why you should update your existing e-commerce website? 

1. Make Your Website Visually Appealing 

Whenever a user visits my website the first thing they come across is the design and different elements on your web page that actually represent and reflect your organization. If your ecommerce website is failing to look professional then there are chances that your site visitor may fail to trust your online store as well as your business. A poorly designed ecommerce website not only drives users away but also creates a bad impression of your brand and business. 

On the other hand, if your website looks professional and contains the right information then it may grab the site visitor’s attention and make your business and brand look like an authority and expert. These types of practices help you to gain credibility which results in more traffic and sales. Your ecommerce website design should be able to highlight your product and services and the layout you are offering should be intuitive and friendly. It’s not only about updating your design with the latest trends but also making sure that your site visitors are able to relate to the web design you are offering. 

Yes, it requires a lot of research and planning that is the reason why most of the ecommerce website design companies prefer to go with an experienced ecommerce website design company that can help to create custom-coded ecommerce website design for their business.

2. Upgraded technology 

We don’t have to mention how rapidly internet technology is developing. The reason why people introduce new technology is to make the website better, faster, simpler, lighter, and more importantly secure from unwanted malicious activities. If your ecommerce website design is adopting these technologies that are relevant to your business then you are not only staying ahead of your competition but also offering the best possible service and user experience to your site visitors which results in gaining their trust and reputation.  

3. Make your design more Responsive and mobile-friendly design

In today’s competitive marketplace it’s important for every ecommerce website to have a highly responsive website design. Today more and more online shoppers are shifting to mobile devices so no business can resist avoiding making their ecommerce website design mobile-friendly. But there is a misconception that making a web design responsive and mobile-friendly is a one-time process. Well not, responsive design is the collection of techniques that helps websites to adapt the size of the screen it is viewed on. 

That means your ecommerce website design should display its elements and other aspects on what size it is being viewed on. Not to mention but day by day companies are launching new devices, platforms, browsers, and more. So you need to ensure that your ecommerce website is responsive on all screens. Updating your existing ecommerce website helps you to make your website user as well as mobile-friendly.

If you are looking to build a highly responsive and mobile-friendly ecommerce website for your business then we recommend you hire an experienced ecommerce website design company that can help you to create a conversion-centric website for your business. 

4. Rejuvenates your ecommerce website  

No matter whether you are making a small change or redesign your whole ecommerce website, making changes offers a new look to your website (mainly if you’re redesigning the whole website) which encourages existing as well as new customers to revisit your ecommerce website. Whenever an online store plans to make changes in its website design it’s either because the brand and business are using the design for a long time or the design is not offering the desired result. If you plan to make changes in your ecommerce web design it should be done with proper research and planning so that it grabs site visitor attention. 

Even if your online store is planning to introduce changes in the business strategy then you should always plan to change your ecommerce web design interface. Because the website acts as the front door of your business and it’s the first thing that your potential customers will notice if they visit your website. That’s why it’s essential to update the face of your business so that it helps you to improve website traffic and sales.   

Online stores often wonder why they should think of redesigning their existing website. Well, today redesigning has become one of the crucial aspects that help site owners to connect their brand and business with potential customers. Redesigning existing websites can help you to improve your website traffic and sales. So, if you have not planned to redesign an existing ecommerce website then it’s time to do it.  

5. Makes your website follow the design trends 

If you are keeping a track of web design trends then you must be aware of the fact that web design trends change every. Some of the new e-commerce web design trends get added to the list where most of the trends get updated with time. That’s why it has become crucial for websites to keep their web design updated with the latest trends. If you keep on ignoring the latest trends then there are high chances that your potential customers will shift to your competitor’s website and your web design will stop attracting new visitors. 

Remember design trends are not only limited to color and theme but there are more involved to it. With the advancement in technology and website design companies adopting new techniques web design has become more about having a clean and straightforward design. Nowadays dark mode, motion UI, and more are gearing user attention but following these trends needs a more careful and smart approach. Sometimes adopting different trends can do more harm than good. That is the reason why we recommend consulting with an experienced ecommerce website design company that can help you to update your design and also get new customers. 

6. Improves Data Safety 

If you are running an ecommerce website then your ecommerce website must be containing various data related to user personal as well as payment details. If your web server is storing user’s information then you need to ensure safety and security so that the information doesn’t get into someone else’s hand. Having an outdated and old ecommerce website not only affects its performance but also the security. 

With new technology getting launched every year it is common to expect that a year old technology can be outdated. That is the reason why it’s recommended to update your web design with time so that your business does not come across any security-related issues. If you are using CMS then make sure that it is updated regularly on the other hand if you are using a custom-coded ecommerce website for your business then you can ask the provider to make the website meet the latest standard. 

Hiring a reliable and experienced ecommerce website design company for your business will help you to maintain your website security and performance so that it performs well and offers you the desired results. 

7. Improve Website Speed 

If you are using a website for your business then you must be aware of the importance of speed mainly with ecommerce websites. If your website fails to display its elements within 3-4 seconds then your site visitor will not only abandon your website but may never return back on it. Today no one hangs out and waits for a website that takes too long to load. That is the reason why it has become one of the most important factors that give rise to the bounce rate. 

There are other factors that affect website speed like the platform you are using, the number of features embedded in your website, how bloated the website is, and more. Today most of the web design trends are focused on improving your website speed and performance. Updating your website not online helps you to upgrade the design but also the loading speed of your website. Sometimes the old themes also play a crucial factor in slowing the website speed. That is the reason why it’s recommended to upgrade your web design which will result in a fast loading time. 

You can either plan to make small changes in the design or hire an experienced and reliable ecommerce website design company to redesign your existing website so that it performs well in every aspect. 

15 Best Ecommerce website design practices to consider 2021

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1. Keep your potential Customer in mind  

Before we start highlighting other ecommerce web design tips the first thing we would like to recommend is creating designs keeping users in mind. Every small element and page in your ecommerce website that is from the homepage to the product page to the final checkout page could potentially help users to make their final purchase decision. So you need to ensure that your online store is offering an unforgettable impression. To achieve that you need to consider your position consumers while creating your ecommerce website design. 

Most of the popular and reliable ecommerce website design companies spend days and weeks just to identify and understand the potential customer’s behavior and interest so that they are able to create and offer a web design that relates to the user and encourages them to purchase the product. Remember to create a highly effective converting web design you need to keep your potential customers in mind with every small decision you make while designing your ecommerce website. 

You must have heard that today user experience plays a crucial role in traffic and conversion and it also helps businesses to convert site visitors into paying customers. Apart from that, there are a lot of advantages of making your ecommerce website user-friendly. To achieve that you need to keep the user in mind while creating your ecommerce website. If you are not sure about how you can make your website user-friendly then we recommend consulting with an experienced ecommerce website design company.  

If you are looking to create a user-centric website design for your business then make sure to check our blog on  User-Centric Website Design Guide: How To Create A Website Design That Relates With Target Audience?

2. Create Simple Design By Avoiding Clusters

One of the most common mistakes that every ecommerce website makes is by bombarding their site visitors with a lot of graphic elements and background color. Today minimalist websites are preferred over visually complex websites. No matter whether you are running an ecommerce website or a standard website for your business, one thing that can help you to get online success is the simplicity in your web design. 

More than 80% of the people believe that a crowded web design is one main reason that gives rise to cart abandonment and increases website bounce rate. Whether it’s your home page or your category page you need to ensure that the web design is simple and more visually appealing so that it helps your business to get more customers. Sometimes these simple and appealing designs also help online stores to convert their existing customers into loyal customers. 

Simplifying your ecommerce web design results in high conversion and lower bounce rates. But the quationi0s how to simplify the web design? Well, we are not asking you to remove any of your product images or products instead you can take away unnecessary content and images that are not relevant and make use of plenty of white space to separate your products and the CTA’s. Remember your ultimate goal is to convert your site visitor into paying customers by removing distractions from the web pages so you can make it more conversion-centric. 

Your web pages should be crafted in a way that frowns site visitor attention on the CTA button, adding too many clusters in your ecommerce website can make it difficult for them to identify CTA.  53% of the websites place CTA in a way that takes more than three to four seconds to locate. Your aim should be to reduce the timing so that users are able to identify the CTA as quickly as possible. 

Remember keeping your web design simple and clean can offer more benefits to your website as well as your business. For that, you can take the help of an experienced ecommerce website design company that can help you to create an attractive and conversion-centric ecommerce website for your business. 

3. Make the navigation as simple as possible 

Today, by putting in some effort, businesses can identify the right set of potential audiences for their customers but it’s difficult to understand how friendly they are with accessing the internet and websites. That’s the reason why next in the list of best ecommerce practices our ecommerce website design professionals ask you to make your navigation as simple as possible. 

Menus are the best way to organize your products and tell your site visitors what you are selling. Whenever an online shooter lands on your website homepage the first thing they do is browse the products they are looking to buy or simply they go to the navigation menu and start tv searching for it depending on the category. If your web navigation is not simple and easy to use then it will not only affect your sales but there are high chances that your customer will shift to your competitor’s website and may never return back. 

Adding too many menus categories on your ecommerce website increases the chances of confusion which prevents site visitors to find the product they are looking to buy. That is the reason why leading ecommerce websites make use of broad categories like shops for men, women, kids, and more. If users click on any one of the categories then they come across other subcategories like top wear, bottom wear, winter wear, shoes, and more. 

By categorizing your products you are making it easier for the new shopper with no idea about making an online purchase. It becomes easy for them to search for the product they are looking for and purchase it without getting a second thought. That is the reason why when you start creating a navigation menu for your ecommerce website it is as easy as possible so that a non-internet user can access and search for the product they are looking for. 

Focus on categories because that is the place where users get more confused. Make use of the broad title and we recommend testing a few setups so that you get a better understanding of what works best for your audience. Apart from that, you can also focus on the product search bar. A product search bar helps the user to find the specific product so make sure your product search bar offers recommendations whenever a user starts typing some keywords. 

If you are looking to have a user-friendly ecommerce website with more advanced features then we recommend hiring a reliable and experienced ecommerce website design company that can help you to create a researched-based website that drives more traffic and sales. 

4. Add Search Bar Into your web design 

If you are already running an ecommerce website then you must be aware of the importance of having a search bar. Next in the list of best ecommerce website design practices, we have listed another important point that every ecommerce website should consider while creating the website. By offering easy navigation you are helping your site visitor to find the product but for that user has to navigate to the menu section select the category and then the subcategory to access the list of products. What if your online store contains hundreds and thousands of products under one subcategory?

We know that most of your online stores may not have a huge product list but still, there are ecommerce websites and retailers that look to offer multiple products. If a user is landing on your ecommerce website to buy a specific product then they have to go through all these processes to find the product they wish to buy. There are high chances that the potential customer may get confused after seeing the huge product list. Forcing users to scroll and find the product may create a negative experience and there are chances that your customer may shift to your competitor’s ecommerce website.  

That is the reason why it’s recommended to offer a search bar on your ecommerce website. Implementing a search bar in your ecommerce website helps the user to find the product easily. Your online store might be selling thousands of products. A search bar makes it easy for the user to search for a specific product. By typing the name of the product with the brand name in the search bar, users can easily find the product they are looking to buy.

You can offer a smart search box that offers multiple recommendations whenever a user starts typing a product or brand name in the search box.  To integrate such advanced features in your ecommerce website it’s always recommended to hire an experienced ecommerce website design company that can help you build a highly responsive and conversion-centric eCommerce website for your online business. 

5. Add view Cart button on each page 

Next in the list of best ecommerce website design practices, we have another important tip that every online store owner should consider in 2021. If you are an existing user of an e-commerce website then you must be aware of the importance of having a view cart button in your product as well as the category page. You must have noticed that almost every ecommerce website, mainly the popular ones, has a cart icon displayed on every web page in the top right corner. 

By clicking on the cart icon a shopper comes to know what products they have added to their cart and what more they wish to add. The view cart is one of the important ecommerce web design elements that every ecommerce website must have mainly in today’s competitive marketplace. 

Adding the view cart icon to your ecommerce web page improves the conversion rate and ensures that users don’t forget any product while placing the final order. Just you need to ensure that you view the cart option allows the user to add the products in real-time which means if a user clicks on the add to cart button it should reflect in the cart immediately. On the other hand, if your cart option is family to offer real-time results then there are high chances that it may confuse your site visitors. 

You Can place it on the top corner of your website page because the cart icon is one of the important elements that most of the online shoppers visiting your website may look for. So you should make it accessible to them by separating it out from the crowd. Make sure your cart option button is larger than the other buttons. 

If you are having an experienced ecommerce website design company for building your online store then you don’t have to worry about the design because the research-based design offered by them comes with all the advanced design and features that make your ecommerce website stand out from the crowd.

6. Make use of high-quality images 

Images are one of the crucial aspects of an ecommerce website that can make and break any online store. No matter how effective and helpful your products are for the user, if your product images are not able to deliver their effectiveness then the user may refuse to make the final purchase. Images are something that can increase as well as decree the conversion rate. A recent study shows that websites that are using highly relevant and high-quality images have seen their conversion rate increased by 40%. Mainly when it comes to ecommerce websites the conversion rate is considered one of the most important metrics. 

If you want your site visitors to make a successful purchase then you need to show them exactly what they are buying by offering high-quality images. Because no one is going to make a purchase without seeing the product. One of the best practices is to display the product image from different angles. Having these types of images encourages site visitors to make the purchase without any hesitation. 

Not only that but displaying professional images of the product also helps ecommerce websites to gain user’s trust and confidence. If they feel confident about the product they are buying then they are more likely to purchase the product and may revisit your website to make another purchase. On the other hand, if your ecommerce website doesn’t have any images or have a single image then the buyer may hesitate to make the final purchase and it will result in a lower conversion rate. 

So we always recommend adding as many high-quality images as you can to form different angles. If possible you can also add the 360-degree view of the product so that it creates more impact on the customer buying process.  

7. Choosing the right color 

Selecting the right color for your ecommerce website can be the most difficult part because the color is considered one of the most powerful tools that make your website look appealing and grab more user attention. That is the reason why next in the list of best ecommerce website design practices we have included another important point where our experienced ecommerce website design professional asks the online store owner to select the right set of colors for their website. 

Today color is considered one of the important aspects of web design where designers spend days selecting the right set of colors for the website. If you successfully understand the psychology behind the color then you can use it to influence some serious sales and drive more organic traffic. Once you dive down into understanding color psychology then you will understand that different colors can actually inspire various emotions, feelings, and actions. So if you are looking to create an ecommerce website that actually converts then it’s recommended to use colors that offer a lot of advantages to your ecommerce website. 

For example, if you are looking to get your site visitor’s email id then make the subscribe button color stand out from the website. In the same way, if you have selected blue as your site color and want site visitors to make the purchase then make your purchase button stand out from the blue color. If you dive into a deeper understanding of color psychology then you will find that blue color seems to be conservative and offers calmness to mind and feeling in the same way red inspired feelings of excitement. 

That is the reason why in many places you will find CTA color as red. Blue and red are the colors that are universally loved and widely used by ecommerce websites. So selecting the right set color combination can offer a lot of benefits to your ecommerce websites. If you face difficulties in selecting the right set of color combinations then you can always reach out to an experienced ecommerce website design company that can help you to select the right set of colors that will help you to drive more traffic and conversions. 

8. Avoid distracting users 

The main reason why you are creating your ecommerce website is to make your product reach the maximum number of customers and encourage them to become your paying customers. Today there are a number of guides and tutorials available that can offer you multiple tips to grow your sales. Most of the online retailers blindly follow them and end up adding too many distractions to their websites. 

Adding and offering additional information about your brand, product, and more is a good option. You can also ask your site visitor to sign up for the newsletter but make sure you don’t end up adding too much information and CTA’s that distracts users from making the final purchase. For example, if your web page contains an additional section at the bottom that asks users to fill up to form so that they can join and receive newsletters and updates related to new and upcoming products and also other information relates to sales and discounts. 

But if you are adding a pop-up window that asks the user to do the same then it may distract your site visitor and create an opposite impact. It will not only distract them from making the final purchase but these types of practices also annoy users which can impact your brand reputation. Apart from that, you can also avoid adding other elements and CTA’s that drive users away from the main web page. Instead you can look t integrate modern website design elements and use modern navigation menus for engaging design. 

If your ecommerce website is also offering product recommendations in the cart or checkout page then you need to stop it immediately because it can be the primary reason that can stop users from completing the final purchase process.  

Hiring an experienced ecommerce website design company for your online store ensures that your website is having a clean and structured design that grabs user attention and encourages them to make the final purchase without getting distracted with other elements and information. 

9. Focus On Branding 

Whenever a user plans to purchase any product from an online store they always prefer to go with the most reliable and reputed brands and online stores. No one will look to purchase a product from a  faceless and unknown ecommerce website. Most savvy online shoppers look at those types of online stores as someone looking to steal personal as well as payment-related information. That is the reason why trust has become one of the important factors that influence the final purchase process.

If you are someone looking to gain audience trust and drive more traffic and sales tech you need to focus on branding. The design you are offering should be able to deliver your brand message and convince your customer that you can be their trusted partner. Remember the branding acts as the soul of your website as it displays what you are and what separates you from another non-authentic ecommerce website. The branding helps you to build a strong connection and encourage customers to trust your online store which helps you to drive more traffic and sales. 

That is the reason why it’s recommended to get your web design built with an experienced ecommerce website design company that can help you to define your brand and drive a strong and convincing brand message that encourages your potential customer to trust your online store over others. Hiring experienced ecommerce web design professionals can help you to do in-depth research so that your online store is able to offer a design that connects with your potential customer expectation. That is the reason why a research-based design has more impact than a normal web design. 

Conclusion 

By now you must be aware of the best ecommerce website design practices that you can consider in 2021 to engage your online store functioning. Apart from that, we have also mentioned some important tips that can help you to increase your website traffic and conversion. If you are looking to redesign your editing ecommerce website then you can always reach out to an experienced eCommerce website design company for your business. 

SFWP Experts is an award-winning ecommerce website design company with more than 12 years of experience in building ecommerce websites for different businesses across different industries. Our highly experienced e-commerce website experts will help you to create a custom-coded conversion-centric ecommerce website that will drive more traffic and conversions.